Chapter 52 [VIP]

Chapter Summary: Magpie.

The eldest sister turned and went back into the house. Yu Jing and Xie Xuan also pushed open the door and went in. The two of them didn't say a word the whole way, but Yu Jing felt that the atmosphere was a little awkward.

Xie Xuan lit the candles in the room with the candle in his hand, remained silent for a moment, and then said, "I'll go prepare your clothes. You should take a bath first."

"Oh, okay." Yu Jing had just done that, and was now a little at a loss, so she stammered in response.

Xie Xuan then went out. Walking along the path to the bathhouse, he stretched his hands, which felt numb and stiff, and touched his chest. His heart was pounding violently; even through his clothes, he could feel his entire chest vibrating.

He had never been so intimate with a woman before; Yu Jing was the first. Moreover, it was she who initiated it.

After preparing Yu Jing's clothes, I went to the room to call Yu Jing, and Yu Jing responded and went to take a bath.

When he returned to the room after his bath, Yu Jing was already in bed. It was getting slightly warm, and Yu Jing was only covered with a thin blanket. Her long, thick, black hair was spread across the pillow, her long eyelashes trembled, and her lips were small and red. Xie Xuan's gaze fell on her lips, and he suddenly felt the soft, breathless panting she had been breathing earlier, so alluring and captivating. Xie Xuan froze; his heart, which hadn't calmed down before, now pounded even harder. Perhaps it was the weather, but even his body felt a little hot.

Xie Xuan gently shook his head, trying to push those distracting thoughts away. He took a deep breath, walked to the candlestick, blew out the candle, and gently lay down next to Yu Jing.

Yu Jing wasn't actually asleep, but after what had just happened, she felt that it would be awkward to be in the same room with Xie Xuan without anything to say, so she pretended to be asleep to avoid him.

But she didn't expect that when Xie Xuan lay down, he pressed down on a strand of her hair. Her hair was pressed down and pulled by Xie Xuan, which made her feel a little uncomfortable. After thinking it over, she could only pretend to be half asleep, let out a soft hum, and inadvertently moved a little closer to Xie Xuan.

Xie Xuan had just lain down, his heart still pounding, when he suddenly heard a noise beside him. Before he could react, the scent of soap wafted to his nose. The next second, he felt Yu Jing move closer.

My heart started beating even faster.

Yu Jing moved slightly closer and heard Xie Xuan's heart pounding like a drum. Xie Xuan froze, glancing sideways at Yu Jing, only to see a dark shadow.

Later, Yu Jing listened to Xie Xuan's strong heartbeat and slowly fell asleep. In her sleep, she moved even closer to Xie Xuan. Her breaths gently brushed against Xie Xuan's ear. Xie Xuan hadn't slept all night and was extremely awake.

When Yu Jing woke up, she realized that she had unknowingly fallen asleep under Xie Xuan's elbow, her head resting on his sleeve, nestled beside him. Just as she was about to quietly move back to the side, she noticed Xie Xuan move. She looked up at him and met his lowered eyes.

The light outside was bright, filtering through the window in a hazy glow; they hadn't lowered the tent curtains. Yu Jing could clearly see Xie Xuan's face: sword-like eyebrows, bright eyes, a high nose bridge, a well-defined jaw, and gentle eyes, even carrying a hint of doting. A sudden warmth on her wrist, and as if possessed, Yu Jing slightly turned over, propped herself up with her left hand, and pressed her lips to Xie Xuan's.

Although Xie Xuan hadn't slept all night, his mind was still in a mess. When Yu Jing's lips touched his, he was stunned and his breath caught in his throat.

Yu Jing snapped out of her daze after leaning in, and was about to get up and turn her back when Xie Xuan pressed her head down. Unlike his gentleness yesterday, Xie Xuan's tone was now aggressive. Yu Jing's hands couldn't hold on any longer, and her whole body went limp. She touched her wound and frowned deeply.

Xie Xuan noticed, and with his arm around Yu Jing's waist, he rolled her over and laid her flat on the couch. Xie Xuan didn't release Yu Jing; instead, he leaned in on her, and Yu Jing looked directly at Xie Xuan's face. His face was still very red, and his eyes held emotions Yu Jing couldn't understand, along with a hint of domineering.

"Why have you teased me so many times?" Xie Xuan asked, his voice low as he spoke to her, so close to her.

Yu Jing was stumped by Xie Xuan's question. She couldn't very well tell him directly that it was due to the inner core of the nine-tailed red fox on her wrist. After hesitating for a while, she met Xie Xuan's eyes and asked in return, "Between a man and a woman, what could it be?"

Xie Xuan felt his heart tremble violently, a feeling he couldn't describe. Before Yu Jing could finish speaking, Xie Xuan's kiss landed on his lips.

Yu Jing was struggling to breathe. Xie Xuan slowly sat up, his own breathing unsteady, panting heavily. In her dazed state, Yu Jing heard Xie Xuan say, "Excuse me."

Perhaps it was Xie Xuan's red eyes and slightly panting appearance that was so alluring, because Yu Jing stammered a little when she saw him.

"No...nothing's wrong."

"I..." Xie Xuan finished speaking. Yu Jing looked up at him, and Xie Xuan stopped talking, turned over, and got off the bed.

Yu Jing felt that his gaze just now was filled with sadness. She had just kissed him, and she didn't quite understand why.

"Xie Xuan?" Li Yun had just gotten up when he saw Xie Xuan come out of the house. He looked a little strange and asked.

Xie Xuan suddenly raised his head, glanced at Li Yun, then turned his head away slightly. Seeing that Xie Xuan's face was flushed and he didn't seem to want to talk, and with Gui Yi inside, Li Yun didn't interfere and turned to go into the kitchen.

Xie Xuan sat on a chair in the courtyard for a long time, still unable to recover. He wanted to be with her, but even if he were with her now, what would happen when they returned to the capital? He couldn't have a grand wedding with eight sedan chairs, a proper marriage, or even a public ceremony. Thinking of this, Xie Xuan glanced at the house and sighed helplessly. He had always been decisive and ruthless, and he had never imagined that he could be so indecisive.

Xie Xuan himself hadn't figured it out, so he deliberately avoided Yu Jing. Even Li Yun and Sun Jun noticed something was wrong. During dinner that night, Li Yun suddenly said, "Old Sun's birthday is in a couple of days. I'm planning to cook a nice feast to celebrate. Gui Yi and Xie Xuan, how about you two help me out?"

"Okay," Yu Jing replied with a smile. Looking down at Xie Xuan, Xie Xuan paused for a moment and then echoed Yu Jing, "Okay."

Sun Jun and Li Yun treated them very well, so they naturally had to show their appreciation for Sun Jun's birthday.

After finishing their meal, Xie Xuan went to prepare water. Yu Jing heard a noise at the door and called out, "Xie Xuan?"

"It's me." A knock came from the door, mixed with Li Yun's voice.

"Big sister, come in," Yu Jing replied, still somewhat puzzled as to why Li Yun had come over at this time.

Li Yun pushed open the door and came in, her expression somewhat solemn. Yu Jing asked, "Big sister, is something the matter?"

"I noticed Xie Xuan wasn't in a good mood today. He looked a bit strange when he came out of the house this morning. Did you two have a fight?" Li Yun asked directly. Perhaps feeling it wasn't appropriate to ask so bluntly, he added, "Don't think I'm being nosy! You two are both good kids, and I've known you for a long time. Seeing you like this, I felt uneasy, so I came to ask. If it's inconvenient to say, then it's fine."

Yu Jing also felt that Xie Xuan was acting strangely today. Since this morning, he seemed to be deliberately avoiding her, and she didn't know why.

"No, I don't know what's wrong with Xie Xuan either," Yu Jingyi told Li Yun frankly.

“Husbands and wives shouldn’t hold grudges overnight, especially since Xie Xuan has been incredibly good to you. If there’s anything wrong, just ask him and talk it out with him,” Li Yun continued to advise.

"Okay, thank you, elder sister," Yu Jing replied, already having a plan in mind. It was the Old Man of the Moon who personally told her that Xie Xuan had fallen for her, so it should be true. But why? She really needed to ask him properly that night. After all, her current task was to make Xie Xuan fall deeply in love with her; what if Xie Xuan continued to avoid her?

When Xie Xuan returned after his bath, Yu Jing was already in bed, but it was clear she wasn't asleep. Xie Xuan said softly, "I've extinguished the candles."

"Okay," Yu Jing replied. She waited for Xie Xuan to blow out the candles and get into bed.

By this time, the weather was already hot, and after nightfall, the chirping of insects could be heard from outside, occasionally accompanied by the croaking of frogs, which only accentuated the deep silence of the night.

"Xie Xuan." Yu Jing pondered for a moment, then asked directly, "Do you mind that I was previously married?"

Yu Jing had only gleaned this from local customs and traditions, which stated that mortals placed great importance on a woman's chastity. If a woman had already been married, she was not allowed to marry into a good family again. However, in Heaven, there was no such rule. Among immortals and gods, if they liked each other, they stayed together; if they didn't, they separated. Therefore, Yu Jing hadn't considered this matter at the time. But after Li Yun mentioned it, Yu Jing thought about it carefully, and considering Xie Xuan's situation, this was probably the only possible explanation.

When Xie Xuan heard Yu Jing ask this, he choked up and quickly denied it, saying, "No."

Yu Jing was about to ask another question when Xie Xuan continued, "Your Majesty, once we return to the capital, we..."

Xie Xuan stopped there. After a moment of silence, he changed the subject, saying, "My love for you has nothing to do with whether you are married or not, nor with whether you hold a high position. But because of our social status, even though I love you, I cannot marry you with the elaborate formalities of marriage."

“I don’t care,” Yu Jing replied.

"Xie Xuan, it's enough that you love me." Yu Jing turned her head, looking at Xie Xuan's silhouette, and solemnly replied. She truly didn't care. Born in the Heavenly Court, matters of love between men and women were not subject to the many formalities of the mortal realm. In the Heavenly Court, liking someone was liking them, and disliking someone was disliking them; there were no such considerations.

Yu Jing was so excited that she didn't even notice that the Nine-Tailed Red Fox Inner Core on her wrist lit up briefly before disappearing.

"Magpie."

When Xie Xuan's voice rang out again, Yu Jing was stunned for a moment before realizing that Xie Xuan was calling her by her childhood name.

I love you.